Southwest boarding advice

[NotUrsula]

Standard SWA advice doesn't apply in this thread for two reasons: her non-rev status and her destination. The first is FAR more critical than the second, but both are bad news.

The non-rev issue is the big deal. MCO is hands-down THE most difficult US domestic destination for obtaining multiple non-rev seats on a single flight. The odds of getting all 3 of the needed seats on one flight are very low indeed, and the odds of any of those seats being contiguous are lower still. This makes non-rev a well-nigh impossible option for travel with young children into MCO. (Not to mention the issue of getting home again -- if there are weather-related cancellations it could take days of waiting in the airport to get the needed return seats.)

The OP might have better luck if she can try for a non-stop into TPA instead, as TPA flights tend to have fewer families on board (they are still popular with families, but not usually as packed with them as the MCO routes.

As for EBCI being a scam, not really -- on most routes it gives you a very good likelihood of getting an A pass. The problem here, again, is that it is MCO. SWA sells far more EBCI spots on the MCO routes than on any others in their route map, and it is exactly because of the presence of so many children on these flights.

[tjmw2727]

Originally Posted by NotUrsula

Standard SWA advice doesn't apply in this thread for two reasons: her non-rev status and her destination. The first is FAR more critical than the second, but both are bad news.

The non-rev issue is the big deal. MCO is hands-down THE most difficult US domestic destination for obtaining multiple non-rev seats on a single flight. The odds of getting all 3 of the needed seats on one flight are very low indeed, and the odds of any of those seats being contiguous are lower still. This makes non-rev a well-nigh impossible option for travel with young children into MCO. (Not to mention the issue of getting home again -- if there are weather-related cancellations it could take days of waiting in the airport to get the needed return seats.)

The OP might have better luck if she can try for a non-stop into TPA instead, as TPA flights tend to have fewer families on board (they are still popular with families, but not usually as packed with them as the MCO routes.

As for EBCI being a scam, not really -- on most routes it gives you a very good likelihood of getting an A pass. The problem here, again, is that it is MCO. SWA sells far more EBCI spots on the MCO routes than on any others in their route map, and it is exactly because of the presence of so many children on these flights.

Well said ....

Just to clarify the OP has purchased tickets and is wondering if they want to purchase EBCI with a lap child and a 5yo.

Post #35 is the non rev traveler traveling with a 6yo and a 2yo so EBCI isn't even an option IFAIK.

[lugnut33]

Originally Posted by Princess on the Run

Correct. Paying for EBCI doesn't give you a guarantee of anything. And the more people who pay for it, the less it's worth.

I think that most people would move for a family, just like most people hold a door for someone behind them, or an elevator, or let a person with 1 item go ahead of them at the grocery store. Are we required to do these things? Of course not. But it's the decent thing to do and I feel like there are more decent people than jerks in this world.

You come walking on a bus and I'll give you my seat, but I sure as heck am not doing it on an airplane unless I get another aisle seat in return. No way could I be squished in a middle seat. I would hate it for me and the other people.

We are flying down on Dec. 22 and returning Jan. 1, which are going to be super heavy travel days. I bought the EBCI the same day the seats came available. I'm not taking a chance on getting stuck in a middle seat. Also, I do not have to try and check-in on line while at the parks. To me it's a total of $80 well spent.

[goofy4tink]

Originally Posted by ZoeBell

Just to add in my 2cents. The $10 charge isn't really picking a specific seat. Even with paying it you aren't guaranteed anything. Once I booked the day SW put the schedule out and paid the extra $10 on the day I bought my ticket. I ended up with B seating. I also noticed A 1-14 were empty and was told were held for business customers. But there those boarding numbers sat, empty as we were lining up.

I'd move for a family as I'd hope if I needed it a kind soul would do the same for me.

A1-15 is for those paying full fare...completely refundable fares. I have flown in A1, 2, and 3 before. Very nice, but I paid dearly for it...about $400 pp, r/t, for a flight that might have cost me $200 if I had booked a wanna getaway fare. But, I needed to have a refundable fare. And if those spots aren't sold, they stay empty since someone could buy one 10 mins prior to boarding, theoretically anyway.

Originally Posted by ZoeBell

Paying the extra money isn't a guarantee of sitting together. It's giving you a better chance maybe of it happening. But not a guarantee. You aren't buying a seat.

I love SW and fly with them every chance I get. But I think the $10 extra is almost like a scam. Because they really aren't guaranteeing you anything except a chance at maybe getting a better number in line.

However, my fare, that I paid for, does buy me a seat. And if I sit my behind in it, that is now, my seat. That addtl $10, for EBCI? It is exactly what it says it is...early bird checkin. Does it get you a better seat? No, but it does get you a better boarding position. And sure, if half the plane buys it, then 49% of the fliers may very well have a better boarding position than you do...depends on when you purchased EBCI and what others paid for their airfare who are also buying EBCI. It's all about how much you spent to fly.
And you most certainly are getting a better spot in line. The other half of the plane should, theoretically, be behind you in line...even if you are the last person in line with EBCI.


If anyone wants the best chance of sitting with the others in their party, they need to either book with an airline that allows you to choose your seats prior to gate arrival, or you need to buy EBCI and hope that you get a low position...in the A group. Yes, other airlines can, and do, change your seat selections. But it doesn't happen all that frequently. You really shouldn't depend on the goodwill of strangers. Yes, most people are happy to move. I have offered to move on occasion. But I was flying by myself, so didn't really care where I sat as long as I was in a window seat!!!
You have no way of knowing why someone wouldn't change seats with you. As I said, it is seldom just one or two people. I have seen a family of 4 trying to be seated together...after boarding in the late C group. There were people around the cabin who said fine, but they weren't all close together, much less next to each other. If you get a row of three seats, and two of those seats are a couple, with a stranger in one seat, well....doesn't take much to understand that there is no way to accommodate a family of four that way.....and that was the issue.

Or the flight I was on, with my dd, flying out of Providence on SW...to Orlando. It was before the current boarding system was in place..you pretty much just went to the open chute and stood there. Once the A row was filled, the B chute was open, and then the C. And you stood there, waiting, for up to two hours, depending on how early you got there. I used to like to get there early since there was a wall in the A area that you could lean against if you were one of the first 10 or so people. So, my dd and I would switch places so the other one could use the bathroom or get a drink. So....we watched a woman walking around with her adorable little boy...probably around 5 or 6. They kept walking past our gate area, killing time, for about an hour or so. They had no other people with them that I could see. So, boarding time comes and my dd and I board the plane. The A group boarded, then the Bs. Then the C group got on...most of them found at least two seats together. There were maybe 5 or 6 that got on last and weren't able to find seating together. Okay. Then, along comes that same woman and her son!!! Lugging bags that were barely carryon size..they actually looked well over the allowable sizing. They walked around, up and down, looking for two seats together. They put their bags in the far rear of the plane...pretty much over the last row of seats. They weren't able to find two seats together...there were possibly 5 empty seats on the plane but they were middle seats. And they weren't very close to each other.
Well, the woman was not happy..you could hear her 'discussing' the situation with the FA. The FA came over the PA asking for someone to change their seats. Well I doubt anyone wanted to give up their aisle or window seat to sit in a middle seat. So no one offered. The FA waited a few minutes and said, and I quote...'People, this mother and her child need seats together. This plane will not move from the gate until they are seated together.' Man, that annoyed me. It meant that someone, or two people perhaps, who had been standing there, in line for well over an hour, and closer to 90 mins, now had to give up seats to a mother who didn't feel the need to stand in line!!!

And before someone comes along to tell me that the boy may have had issues??? Mom could have gone to the gate and explained that prior to boarding time, and then most likely have been allowed to preboard, with those with 4 and under kids!!!

And yes, a couple gave up their seats together and went off and sat apart. Sure it was only a 3 hr flight but still...it rankled a bit.

[anonymousegirl]

Originally Posted by jayhawk74

Every airline in the world has a 2 letter code assigned to it. Some codes make sense, such as AA=American, DL=Delta, and UA=United. Some codes don't make sense, such as WN=Southwest, B6=JetBlue, and NK=Spirit.

Southwest is WN because when it began there was still a Northwest Airlines with the code NW. With so many airlines, the easy codes like AA for American were gone so the powers that be decided to reverse Northwest's NW for Southwest. Why they couldn't use SW is beyond me--maybe there once was an airline using it? Swiss Airlines is LX not SW by the way.

[gigi1313]

Originally Posted by Princess on the Run

It isn't like someone would ask a person who is also flying with family to move,

really? My husband, flying with a wife and three kids, has been asked to move (and has complied) more than once... Leaving me to manage three kids on my own (one alone in her row w/strangers).

I go out of my way, interrupt my vacation, even left castaway cay early, to check in on time, so we can be better assured that our family's needs are met... Only to have some last minute Charlie, with her 30 WDW shopping bags and 10yo refuse to sit separately... Yeah, it's hard to be sympathetic!

[Princess on the Run]

Originally Posted by gigi1313

really? My husband, flying with a wife and three kids, has been asked to move (and has complied) more than once... Leaving me to manage three kids on my own (one alone in her row w/strangers).

I go out of my way, interrupt my vacation, even left castaway cay early, to check in on time, so we can be better assured that our family's needs are met... Only to have some last minute Charlie, with her 30 WDW shopping bags and 10yo refuse to sit separately... Yeah, it's hard to be sympathetic!

I would be irritated with this if I were you (or your DH) too and your DH is a good man to have agreed to do it. Given that he was also with kids, I am surprised he was asked.

I've never asked someone to switch seats but if I were in a position where I absolutely needed to resort to it, I would look for someone who isn't sitting with children (and preferably someone alone) in order to minimize the inconvenience to anyone else.

[gigi1313]

He was asked by a flight attendant after they asked every other pax with an empty seat in their row, and a few dozen who didn't. No one was budging, and DH wanted to get the plane off the ground!

[sam_gordon]

Originally Posted by Princess on the Run

I would be irritated with this if I were you (or your DH) too and your DH is a good man to have agreed to do it. Given that he was also with kids, I am surprised he was asked.

I've never asked someone to switch seats but if I were in a position where I absolutely needed to resort to it, I would look for someone who isn't sitting with children (and preferably someone alone) in order to minimize the inconvenience to anyone else.

So you would be irritated if someone asked you to move if you were sitting with your family, but if you asked someone to move and they declined, they're "jerks". Here's the key... it doesn't matter WHY someone doesn't want to move. Yes, it's nice if they do move, but if they don't (for whatever reason), they're not jerks. You're (general) not owed a reason.

I think it's being a jerk to EXPECT someone to move because your needs (whatever they might be ) trump theirs (whatever they might be).

[Princess on the Run]

Originally Posted by sam_gordon

So you would be irritated if someone asked you to move if you were sitting with your family, but if you asked someone to move and they declined, they're "jerks". Here's the key... it doesn't matter WHY someone doesn't want to move. Yes, it's nice if they do move, but if they don't (for whatever reason), they're not jerks. You're (general) not owed a reason.

I think it's being a jerk to EXPECT someone to move because your needs (whatever they might be ) trump theirs (whatever they might be).

I would be irritated if I was with my entire family including small children and had to move because no one else would. I think asking someone to leave their small children so someone else can be with theirs is silly when there are plenty of people who are not with small children who should have volunteered. And yes, those solo travelers who didn't move (which forced her DH to move away from his family) are jerks in my books. Her DH did the noble thing but shouldn't have had to because someone else should have done it so that the plane could get going.

I understand you all feel the need to explain why your situation is different and you couldn't possibly move because you simply HAVE to have a certain seat or the entire world will fall apart. I truly don't care. I don't need or want your explanation and have never asked anyone for one. I have never asked someone to move seats for me and hopefully never will. It doesn't change the fact that I will continue to think that people who aren't flexible or reasonable when they can be are jerks. You don't have to agree with me and I don't care if you do. I am sure there are people silently judging me every day as I walk through the world. It is what is it and it really doesn't matter. The reality is that there are enough people who will do the right thing so the system works.

[goofy4tink]

Originally Posted by Princess on the Run

I would be irritated if I was with my entire family including small children and had to move because no one else would. I think asking someone to leave their small children so someone else can be with theirs is silly when there are plenty of people who are not with small children who should have volunteered. And yes, those solo travelers who didn't move (which forced her DH to move away from his family) are jerks in my books. Her DH did the noble thing but shouldn't have had to because someone else should have done it so that the plane could get going.

I understand you all feel the need to explain why your situation is different and you couldn't possibly move because you simply HAVE to have a certain seat or the entire world will fall apart. I truly don't care. I don't need or want your explanation and have never asked anyone for one. I have never asked someone to move seats for me and hopefully never will. It doesn't change the fact that I will continue to think that people who aren't flexible or reasonable when they can be are jerks. You don't have to agree with me and I don't care if you do. I am sure there are people silently judging me every day as I walk through the world. It is what is it and it really doesn't matter. The reality is that there are enough people who will do the right thing so the system works.

And again, I will say, although you don't particularly care to hear it, you have absolutely no idea why someone doesn't give up their seat. You can think of them as jerks all you want, but many, many people have reasons (whether you think they are valid or not) for keeping the seat chosen.

I flew many times with my dd when she was younger. I took responsibility for getting seats together. That is my job.....not Jane or John Doe's. Now, when I fly by myself??? I may offer to move if there are empty seats next to me...which will allow 3 in a family to sit together. But, I may not as well. That does not make me a jerk.....even though, in your book, I would be. Personally? I think those that make assumptions about strangers need to step back and rethink things.

[lugnut33]

If you are not going to buy early check in and want guaranteed seats together, then you should fly a different airline. Southwest may not be the airline for you. Perhaps a little due diligence up front might be in order to determine your flying needs. Not my problem some flyer wasn't smart enough to figure out how Southwest does their boarding process.

I'm not always a jerk, but when I am it's usually while I'm flying. <leans chair back>

[gwynne]

Originally Posted by goofy4tink

And again, I will say, although you don't particularly care to hear it, you have absolutely no idea why someone doesn't give up their seat. You can think of them as jerks all you want, but many, many people have reasons (whether you think they are valid or not) for keeping the seat chosen.

I flew many times with my dd when she was younger. I took responsibility for getting seats together. That is my job.....not Jane or John Doe's. Now, when I fly by myself??? I may offer to move if there are empty seats next to me...which will allow 3 in a family to sit together. But, I may not as well. That does not make me a jerk.....even though, in your book, I would be. Personally? I think those that make assumptions about strangers need to step back and rethink things.

BBM. Well put. My goodness, it is amazing to me that anyone would use the word "jerk" to describe a fellow passenger that doesn't hop to and do another passenger's bidding.
Choosing to be proactive is quite helpful when traveling. We can't control everything, but by controlling the things we can, it makes a bit difference in our overall travel experience.

[sam_gordon]

Originally Posted by Princess on the Run

I would be irritated if I was with my entire family including small children and had to move because no one else would. I think asking someone to leave their small children so someone else can be with theirs is silly when there are plenty of people who are not with small children who should have volunteered. And yes, those solo travelers who didn't move (which forced her DH to move away from his family) are jerks in my books. Her DH did the noble thing but shouldn't have had to because someone else should have done it so that the plane could get going.

I understand you all feel the need to explain why your situation is different and you couldn't possibly move because you simply HAVE to have a certain seat or the entire world will fall apart. I truly don't care. I don't need or want your explanation and have never asked anyone for one. I have never asked someone to move seats for me and hopefully never will. It doesn't change the fact that I will continue to think that people who aren't flexible or reasonable when they can be are jerks. You don't have to agree with me and I don't care if you do. I am sure there are people silently judging me every day as I walk through the world. It is what is it and it really doesn't matter. The reality is that there are enough people who will do the right thing so the system works.

I had to laugh to the bolded. You can easily say "doing the right thing" means being proactive on understanding how to get seats together.

I think you missed my point. You think the needs of someone travelling with small kids trumps the needs of anyone not travelling with small kids. It apparently doesn't matter to you if they're travelling with someone with special needs, need a "front" seat because they have a tight connection, or whatever reason. My point is their reason doesn't matter. You are of course to think of them as "jerks" just as we're free to think of you as a jerk for thinking your needs are more important than others.

[chicagodisneyfan]

Originally Posted by sommergirl25

I will be flying non revs in few months. Do you really think it is ok for young children to sit wherever is available just because they didn't pay for the seat? My 2 year old will not be sitting by himself and I wouldn't let my 6 year old sit alone either. I don't understand how moving to another seat hurts anyone. My husband and I are prepared to have to split up but the kids will be seated next to one of us. It will be their first time flying, it will be for their protection, an the sanity of everyone else around.

You may be in a ton of trouble then. Typically they will NOT let non-revs use family boarding so I do not understand how you will be able to sit together. I suggest you prep the 6 year old.

Flying in season (Feb) around holiday weekends is just crazy as a revenue pax. Would never try and non-rev